In a fairly - and rightfully - obscure Saturday Night Live skit, Christopher Walken's corporate character encounters Julia Sweeney's Pat, and unable to cope with Pat's relentless androgyny, he decides to fling himself out the window rather than continue to spar with he/she.
This is as close as I can come to my experience at Joanna Newsom's Nashville show Sunday night at the Mercy Lounge.
Now, don't fear - I'm not about to take plunge because I can't loathe or love her. All I know is I could have spent four hours listening to those chorus-free harp tunes and still not known whether I liked them or not. She had a crack band, including a multi-instrumentalist jumping between banjo and mandola. She unveiled lyrical twists unheard in modern music, yet I am unable take a side.
Even her most ardent supporters must admit she hits discordant, uncomfortable notes. Newsom detractors must admit she plays a mean harp, and her music might not sound out of place in the English minstrel tradition. Thanks to feet better suited to running than standing these days, I could only hold on for an hour, but enduring the whole show would not have mattered.
The free-form structure of her songs doesn't bother me; it is nice to see an artist liberated from those constraints. I think Newsom has some major songwriting chops, and her use of the harp lends an exotic touch. At times, her voice strayed - and more often camped out - in ranges I found distasteful. I couldn't rationalize those tones, no matter how hard I tried.
Having everyone in the center of the Mercy Lounge sit down was a cool touch, even if this weekend's long run left me unable to get back up if I caved in. Some songs had touching melodic and lyric twists, while others rambled past the 10-minute mark, structure be damned. Whatever I heard, just don't ask me what to feel about it.
I wonder if this how Tom Waits haters feel - numerous people have told me the man can write a song like no one else, but they can't stand the voice. I wanted to like her. But unlike any other artist, I left feeling nothing but ambiguity.
When it comes to one of indie rock's most divisive artists, I'll stick to the middle ground, if only because of my inability to label her as a genius or a jobber.
What I heard was different - don't ask me to call it transcendent or abhorrent.
1 comment:
This is how I feel about her....and to a degree, Tom Waits.
But there are other bands where the voice is so grating that I cannot stick around to figure out if there's a talent beneath it (Radiohead's Thom Yorke comes to mine) before running away screaming.
Thanks for the review
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